Gingerbread - Android 2.3

In Short

Gingerbread -- Android 2.3 -- despite being a "dot" release (aka minor), actually brought some fairly major changes to the Android platform. (It also brought us the statue you see above).

Cosmetically, nothing changed that much. The notification bar at the top of the screen went black, and the signal strength and battery indicators turned green. Many had been hoping Gingerbread would contain the handiwork of Matias Duarte, who led Palm's webOS UI and now is user experience director for Android. But it looks like we'll have to wait for Ice Cream Sandwich for that one.

Another big question you'll ask is "Will my phone be upgraded to Gingerbread?" For the first half of 2011, far too many phones launched without it. But slowly, our unofficial list of phones is starting to see upgrades.

More Gingerbread stories

16 November 2011 15By Richard DevineOne of my favourite Tegra Zone games so far has to be Sprinkle. It's super addictive, challenging, fun to play, excellent graphics, a brilliant casual game. The only drawback has been it's reliance on the Tegra 2 chipset...

14 November 2011 86By Bla1ze
Remember back a few months when a lot of Droid Incredible users were so stoked to see a Gingerbread OTA arrive on their device? We remember it as well but we also remember that build was rather buggy for some while being perfectly fine for others...

10 November 2011 62By Alex Dobie
As 2011 draws to a close, we’ve started to see a convergence of Android phones and tablets. Honeycomb-powered tablets are available in more form factors than ever before, and smartphones are growing larger still, with 4.3- to 4.7-inch devices quickly becoming the norm...

10 November 2011 1By Alex DobieOwners of SIM-free Sony Ericsson Xperia X10s have been enjoying Android 2.3 Gingerbread for the past few months, but so far the upgrade has been absent from some branded handsets, including those bought through O2 UK...

07 November 2011By Alex Dobie
Good news for anyone involved with tinkering around with software for the venerable HTC Desire. In accordance with open source rules, HTC has just released the kernel source code for the device's Gingerbread update, which was offered as an optional RUU for GSM Desires back in August...

03 November 2011 111By Anndrew Vacca
The HTC Rezound is here, and it's the first in a wave of high end devices headed to Verizon Wireless this holiday season. HTC introduced the Rezound today in New York City and we managed to push through the crowd for some quality hands on time. Hit the break for full impressions...

03 November 2011By Alex Dobie
Sony Ericsson has a little surprise waiting inside the latest software update for its 2011 Xperia series -- a Swype-style "gesture input" system baked into the Xperia keyboard...

01 November 2011 6By Richard DevineHTC's monstrous 4.7 inch, Beats filled Sensation XL has made it's debut today in the UK, in both subsidised and sim free fashion.
Available on contract from Three, the phone will be available for free with a new two-year, £40 per month contract which includes all you can eat data...

31 October 2011 2By Alex DobieBritish network Three has announced that it's now stocking the Samsung Galaxy W, Sammy's latest mid-range offering, with a 1.4 GHz chip and a 3.7-inch Super LCD display. On the software side of things, you've got Android 2.3 Gingerbread, along with Samsung's TouchWiz 4.0 UX...

31 October 2011 6By Alex DobieThe past 11 months have seen Sony Ericsson recover from the disappointments and frustrations of its early Android efforts, releasing a solid line-up of well-designed Gingerbread-based phones in a range of different form factors...

31 October 2011 6By Richard Devine
The long wait is finally, almost, at an end for users of LG's Optimus line as they have today released details of the European rollout of their much awaited Gingerbread update for the "three premium smartphones" in the lineup...

31 October 2011 18By Sean Brunett
Verizon has announced that the Gingerbread update is coming soon for the Samsung Galaxy Tab. The original Tab is often forgotten with the onslaught of tablets that have been released afterwards, but it remains a favorite among many Android fans...